


Hero

by bellutrixlestrange



Series: Harry Potter Drabbles [7]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 08:36:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20043076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellutrixlestrange/pseuds/bellutrixlestrange
Summary: Hero. It was a word that was tossed around everywhere by everyone, but nobody really stopped to think about what it really meant. Harry Potter was not a hero.





	Hero

Hero. It was a word that was tossed around everywhere by everyone, but nobody really stopped to think about what it really meant. People said Albus Dumbledore was a hero because of his acts during the war with Grindlewald and the two wars against Voldemort; Lily Potter was a hero for sacrificing her life to save her son; Severus Snap was a hero for his role as a double agent, spying on Voldemort and passing information along to the Order of the Phoenix.

People called Harry Potter a hero for defeating Voldemort and bringing an end to his reign of terror. Harry didn't much feel like a hero, though. As a child, he was hailed as a hero for an act that he couldn't even remember. As an adult, it was for an act of murder. He would never forget the way Voldemort fell when the Killing Curse struck him, hitting the ground with a thud of finality. He would never forget the look in his foe's eyes as the life was ripped out of him.

No, Harry was not a hero, at least in his own mind. He hated the attention that he was given, hated being praised for taking the life of another. He hated that he was famous for committing such a heinous act. He hated that this was the legacy he would leave behind.

Harry would never be a hero. On some levels, he was still the scared child that spent his days and nights locked inside a cupboard under the stairs. Many nights he stayed awake, staring at the ceiling and wondering what his life would have been like had Hagrid not brought him his Hogwarts letter. Would he have ever been to Hogwarts at all? Would the Wizarding World have forgotten about him? Would he have been able to live his life in peace, never knowing that there was a crazed wizard out for his blood? Would he have been able to live without guilt? Harry wasn't sure.

In the seven years since the war, many things had changed for Harry. He'd lost some friends and gained others. He had pursued his career as an Auror alongside his best friend. He got married to Ginny and prepared to start a family. Things were good. Until they weren't.

Harry was not a hero, and he would never claim to be. Heroes aren't scared of anything, you see. They'll face down death and laugh. But Harry was very, very scared. He didn't think he had ever been so scared in his entire life, not when he faced down Quirrell, not when he faced the Basilisk, and not when he faced Voldemort in the graveyard. But now? Harry was terrified out of his mind. He was now facing the greatest challenge of his life, and he didn't know how he would make it through.

"Mr. Potter?" A quiet voice broke him out of his thoughts and he looked up at the woman who had said his name. She had a smile on her face, and in her arms was a pale blue blanket, a squirming infant wrapped inside. "It's a boy."

Harry's heart swelled with joy, pride, and terror looking at the tiny infant swaddled in the blanket. He would never be a hero, but now he was something even better: a father.


End file.
